Inside the cave, only five of them had survived. They now stood in a cold, silent chamber, their breaths misting in the frigid air.
On the other side of the room stood a raised platform, three meters above the ground, with a staircase leading to its top.
Atop the platform sat the skeleton of the Venerable Ice Lord, his body long decayed but his martial will still undiminished after a thousand years. He sat cross-legged in a lotus posture, and as the five survivors approached, two lanterns at his sides flickered to life with ethereal blue fire, illuminating the frozen hall.
Behind him, words were carved into the stone wall:
"Only one may receive the Ice Lord's inheritance.
Prove that you can withstand the martial will of the Venerable and reach the finish line. Only then can you earn the right to his legacy."
The group looked around at one another, then to the staircase—ten steps in total, each about 30 centimeters tall.
Without hesitation, they stepped forward. The moment their feet touched the first step, a wave of pressure washed over them—the martial will of the Venerable.
The first step represented the Transcendent Realm, and while strong, it was manageable for the top five cultivators.
Riding on their momentum, they pressed forward: the second step… the third… up to the ninth. But as one of them set foot on the tenth and final step, the will intensified drastically.
The pressure now surged from the Profound Perfect Realm to the Life and Death Entry Realm, a leap in intensity that crushed down on them.
One of the cultivators, unable to endure it, fell back down the steps and collapsed—his cultivation realm too weak to withstand the pressure.
As Lu Lang and the remaining three reached the final step, they too felt the overwhelming spiritual force.
In the crushing cold and pressure, Li Ha-rin collapsed unconscious, followed by another cultivator. Only Lu Lang and a young man with Life and Death Realm strength remained.
Standing side by side on the final step, the boy turned toward her and said with a confident smirk, "Since it's just the two of us left… let's settle it."
Without waiting, he launched a palm strike toward her.
Lu Lang raised a single finger, imbued with the Flipping Human Seal. Their powers clashed—his palm met her seal, and with a crack, his bones twisted grotesquely, fingers bending at impossible angles.
Before he could react, Lu Lang closed the distance and struck his chest with a full-force palm. The Flipping Human Seal surged through his body, rupturing his internal organs and shredding them beyond repair.
He spat out a mouthful of blood and dropped to his knees.
A moment later, he was dead—his death so swift and clean, no one could even discern how it happened.
Lu Lang walked slowly up to the Venerable's skeleton. As she stood before it, a thin strand of spiritual will emerged from the skull and entered her mind.
In that instant, she could comprehend the technique left behind by the Ice Lord.
It was a Low Earth Epic Technique, powerful and profound. Yet even it could not rival the Heavenly Flipping Seal.
Without hesitation, Lu Lang turned and killed the remaining two cultivators. Carrying the unconscious Li Ha-rin, she began to exit the cave.
But as she neared the entrance, her steps slowed.
A woman sat calmly just beyond the gate.
Lu Lang's heart sank. She remembered—the cave only permitted those under the Willful Realm to enter.
If this woman was outside, then...
Her gaze shifted toward the martial artist frozen behind the seated figure. At once, she halted.
The woman slowly opened her eyes—cold and white like the heart of winter.
"Little one," Ji-an said, her voice sweet, yet dripping with malice, "why are you not coming out?"
Her tone was gentle, but the intent behind it felt like a predator toying with prey.
Lu Lang narrowed her eyes. "Who are you… and what are you doing here?"
"Oh, I'm Ji-an," she replied with a sly smile. "I'm just waiting for the winner, of course."
She gestured lazily. "So, why don't you come out and let's talk."
Lu Lang didn't move. She shook her head slightly.
Ji-an's expression hardened. "Kid, if you don't come out, I'll wait. I can stay here for months. Let's see if you can last until the cave closes."
Lu Lang touched her stomach, her palm resting gently where the baby inside lay. I can't wait that long, she thought grimly.
"If I come out," she asked, "will you let us go?"
"Of course," Ji-an said with a chuckle. "After I get what I want."
"And what do you want?"
"What else?" Ji-an laughed, her voice echoing like ice cracking. "The Venerable's inheritance, of course."
Lu Lang hesitated… then nodded. "Alright. As long as you don't kill us, I'll give it to you."
She took a cautious step forward.
Just then, a wave of scorching heat blasted through the sky.
Ji-an's eyes shifted, turning toward the source—a blazing streak across the horizon like a shooting star.
In an instant, she stood up, spiritual power gathering around her as she summoned a wall of glacial force—an ice shield formed from the will of heaven.
The blazing figure smashed through it with fiery force, shattering it like fragile glass.
Emerging from the flames was Li Xiu, his aura burning like a spiritual volcano. He landed between Ji-an and Lu Lang, face-to-face with the demon.
"Are you the one who killed the members of my squad?" he asked coldly.
Ji-an tilted her head with a smirk. "Looks like it."
"In that case…" Li Xiu's voice dropped low, deadly. "You'll follow them in death."
With a roar, his fire spiritual power exploded outward, melting the frozen surroundings in a surge of searing heat.
But at the same moment, Ji-an released her own power—ice spiritual power colder than death itself. The air froze once more as the two opposing forces clashed.
Fire and ice tore through the sky as martial will and killing intent engulfed the battlefield. At their peak, the two vanished—locked in a deadly aerial battle, their fight shaking the heavens.
Li Xiu unleashed a Heaven Flame Palm Strike, shaking the very heavens as waves of heat burst outward.
Ji-an met it with a palm of her own, ice clashing with flame. In a blur too fast for the eye, she vanished—reappearing beside Li Xiu in an instant.
A palm strike aimed at his liver came crashing in, but he caught it with his forearm, the force still sending him skidding back.
With a sharp motion, Li Xiu summoned a blade of flame with a single chop. The burning sword descended, but Ji-an caught the edge with her bare hands. Frost spread along the blade instantly. Before she could react, a brutal kick smashed into her face.
She flew several meters back, twisting in mid-air to stabilize herself. But just as she regained control, a palm slammed into her back, launching her farther.
Blood sprayed from her mouth as she landed hard. She looked up, barely catching sight of Li Xiu already flying toward her.
Another palm aimed for her spine—she sidestepped, narrowly evading it. With him within reach, she drove a knee into his abdomen, launching him backwards.
Before he could regain his footing, she appeared again in front of him, palm raised. She struck. Ice spread across his chest, a frostmark blooming in the shape of her hand.
Li Xiu growled, martial will roaring to life as he shattered the ice with sheer spiritual power. His laws flared, burning away the cold.
But Ji-an rained more palm strikes upon him.
Li Xiu responded by raising his law—a one-meter radius around him burned like the core of a star. Everything inside scorched to ash.
Yet Ji-an stepped into the inferno unfazed, her Ice Law shielding her flesh. Her palm collided with his block, both of them holding their ground.
Li Xiu surged forward, throwing an uppercut. It struck her jaw, flame branding her chin. She staggered back.
Before she could react, his martial will burst again. With both will and law unified, he struck.
She was sent crashing down, but at five meters above ground, she flipped midair and landed perfectly. The earth cracked and heaved beneath her.
She leapt again—but Li Xiu appeared right where she was landing, a solid punch slamming into the ground beneath her feet, fire exploding upward.
The earth shattered.
Ji-an tried to move, but he appeared again. A punch flew toward her face—she ducked. Her counter-strike sent him flying with a palm to the chest.
As he halted midair, she appeared in front of him, her palm lashing out again.
But Li Xiu caught her wrist with his left hand. He yanked her forward, his right palm poised at her rib cage.
"Martial Art—Sky Burning Heaven Palm," he intoned coldly.
Spiritual power flooded into his palm. The heat surged—10,500 Kelvin. Enough to kill even a Third Turn Perfection Realm instantly.
Ji-an was launched away, a searing palm mark burned into her side. She froze the wound instantly, glaring at him from the sky.
On the ground, Li Xiu raised his eyes, fist clenched, martial will burning like an inferno.
Ji-an met his gaze. "Since we're using Heaven Techniques now… let me show you what a beast's art looks like," she said coldly.
She raised her arms. "Heavenly Frost Lotus Art—Art of Eternal Frost."
Her Primordial Will surged. Spiritual power churned into a massive divine lotus, expanding until it matched a mountain in size.
Frost intent plummeted the temperature to -3,750 Kelvin.
The town center vanished beneath a four-mile-wide lotus. Mist poured from its core, faster and thicker than the surrounding cold.
Suddenly, an intense heat pierced the frost.
A spiritual avatar, burning and immense, rose behind Li Xiu—growing to 16 meters in height. Flames danced like celestial banners around it.
Li Xiu stared upward, heart heavy. This is the martial will of those on the true path of the Dao…
"My spiritual power is down to thirty percent," he thought grimly. I can't hold out much longer… I must end it here.
The burning avatar drew back its fist, entering a horse stance. Law power surged.
In the lotus, Ji-an stared.
Li Xiu's eyes narrowed. "Since you refuse to kneel and die peacefully... allow me to help you."
He struck.
The fist consumed twenty-five percent of his spiritual power. The blazing punch hurtled forward, cutting through the lotus like a shooting star.
As it neared her, frost surrounded it, cooling the flames. It shrank—from 40 centimeters down to just 7.
Then, it touched her chest.
Boom!
A shockwave exploded. Ji-an looked down.
A hole gaped in the center of her chest.
The first strike pierced her defenses. The second—hidden beneath—carried the true destructive force.
She fell from the sky, dead before she hit the ground.
Li Xiu's avatar vanished as he dropped to the earth, approaching the cave entrance. There, he saw Lu Lang carrying Li Ha-rin.
"And who might you be?" he asked.
Lu Lang responded quietly. "My name is Lu Lang. I was one of the contestants for the Eastern Martial King."
She glanced at Li Ha-rin. "I'm her friend. She collapsed under the Venerable's martial will. I carried her out."
Li Xiu nodded. "If that's the case, I thank you. Give her to me, I'll take her back."
Lu Lang hesitated. But remembering how he risked everything to strike at the demon, she realized—he must be from the Li Family.
She handed Li Ha-rin to him.
Li Xiu turned, collecting the Ice Leopard's corpse.
Before he could leave, Lu Lang asked softly, "Can I come with you?"
Li Xiu glanced back. He nodded.
And so, together, they left the Eternal Ice Cave behind.